Voting ends in referendum on right-wing proposal to ban minarets

Switzerland voted in a referendum Sunday on a controversial proposal from the right-wing Swiss People's Party to impose a ban on the construction of minarets in the country. The proposal has sparked concern among rights groups.

AFP- Switzerland voted Sunday on a controversial call by the far-right for a ban on the construction of minarets, even as the government opposes the move, warning that it could taint the country's image.
   
The Swiss People's Party (SVP) -- Switzerland's biggest party -- had forced a referendum under Swiss regulations on the issue after collecting 100,000 signatures within 18 months from eligible voters.
   
It claims that the turrets or towers attached to mosques from where followers are called to prayer symbolise a "political-religious claim to power."
   
The Swiss government has asked voters to reject the call, arguing that accepting a ban would bring about "incomprehension overseas and harm Switzerland's image."
   
Switzerland has an uneasy relationship with its Muslim population of some 400,000 in a country of 7.5 million people. Islam is the second largest religion here after Christianity.
   
In the run-up to the poll, a mosque in Geneva was vandalised for the third time during the anti-minaret campaign, local media reported Saturday.
   
Determined to stop the SVP from gaining sympathisers to their cause, Bern issued several statements calling on the Swiss to vote against the proposal on several occasions.
   
Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz even deployed a video broadcast to the nation, saying: "Muslims should be able to practice their religion and have access to minarets in Switzerland too. But the call of the muezzin will not sound here."
   
However, an opinion poll published a day after Merz's broadcast found that the number of people supporting a ban has increased three percentage points from a month ago to 37 percent, while those who oppose the ban remained unchanged at 53 percent.
   
In a bid to push their case, the SVP, which had been accused of xenophobia with their election poster campaign in 2007, has once again turned to controversial tactics.
   
Its latest poster campaign depicts a burqa-clad woman against a background of a Swiss flag upon which several minarets resembling missiles are erected, sparking an uproar in some quarters.
   
Switzerland's Commission Against Racism said the campaign defamed the country's Muslim minority, stirred up hatred and could threaten public peace.
   
Religious groups, including Christians, Jews and Muslims, have also come out in a rare show of unity against the right-wing proposal.
   
Diplomatically, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary general of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, had expressed quiet confidence that Switzerland would turn down the ban.
   
"We are sure that the people of Switzerland will reach the best consensus and will take the best decision -- this is an old democratic society," he said.
   
Four minarets have been built in Switzerland and the construction of a fifth is planned.

Date created : 2009-11-29